Blogging about life, culture, the economy and politics, i.e., stuff, since December 2012

Monday, January 6, 2014

Record Antarctic Ice Cover

It's summer down in the Antarctic. But global warming researchers and eco-tourists trapped in a Russian research vessel down under, in the frozen ice pack, were evacuated by air when a Chinese ice breaker on a rescue mission itself became entombed in ice. The ships are not victims of a localized anomaly, for the Antarctic sea ice extent is at a record high, obliterating the previous mark for this date. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard has deployed an ice breaker to attempt to clean up the mess.

The Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star left Australia Sunday and is steaming toward Antarctica to rescue crew members from the scientists’ Russian ship – and a Chinese vessel that came to its aid and also got stuck.

The drama began Christmas Eve when the Russian MV Akademik Shokalskiy – carrying scientists and eco-tourists on a mission to study global warming – got trapped in sea ice.

A Chinese icebreaker – the Xue Long or Snow Dragon – came to the Russian ship’s aid, sending its helicopter to ferry 52 of the scientists and passengers to the Aurora Australis, an Australian icebreaker.

About Me

I had things I wanted to say and became tired of trying to force fit views by commenting on other people's blogs, so I started this enterprise. Contact me at gradyfosterone@gmail.com
Your comments are welcome. If they are relevant, and when negative, stick to sticking it to only to public figures and don't defame or invade anyone's privacy. I'll publish them.
Extended stories about life and family history are especially fun to write. We have the great fortune to have had many relatives who had prominent civic, professional, and/or political lives, which yields many thousands of references memorialized in press clippings and otherwise. I have received plenty of help from relatives who choose to remain unnamed. Those stories garner high readership. They are tagged with "Bathgate."
I would say my politics are libertarian leaning. I seldom vote for Democrats, and usually don't vote for Republicans -- I have been known to get writer's cramp in the voting booth.
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